


Soulmates: A Brief Global History

by Jetlagden



Series: Check Please! Trope Challenge [1]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Dreams, M/M, Week One: Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-13
Updated: 2016-07-13
Packaged: 2018-07-23 20:36:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7479057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jetlagden/pseuds/Jetlagden
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack Laurent Zimmermann knew that he would meet his soulmate very soon, and based on his dreams, was unsure of what to expect.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Soulmates: A Brief Global History

**Author's Note:**

> So, I don't know anything about hockey but I fell for this wonderful comic anyway. It even got me back to writing! I'm a bit behind on the trope challenge, but well, I'm planning to catch up real fast! 
> 
> This is week one: soulmates. Thanks to Tora & Sadaf for beta'ing, any mistakes left are my own! (Also, writing the history bit at the beginning was the most fun I've had writing in al ong time. I love making up history. Gilgamesh is totally real though! Check out that story on wikipedia, it's amazing. I used info from the book "A Little Gay History" and a lecture on the Gilgamesh Epic I had at the beginning of my first year of uni. The historian in the fic doesn't exist!)
> 
> Have fun reading, and let me know what you think!

_“ON SOULMATES: The concept of soulmates (_ Anima Vinculum, _also known as_ Eternal Lovers, Destined, etc _) is a concept first recorded in ancient Mesopotamia, in what we now know as the Epic of Gilgamesh, and not in the Holy Bible, as many Christians believe._

 _This poem illustrates the story of Gilgamesh, the king of Uruk, and Enkidu, a wild man created by the Goddess Ishtar to stop Gilgamesh’ despotic rule. The story goes on to describe the vivid dreams Gilgamesh has of the arrival of “_ a strong partner, one who can save the life of a friend (...) You will love him as a wife, you will dote on him. _” In a turn of events, Gilgamesh and Enkidu become close friends, perhaps even lovers. There is still some discussion among historians whether the two men were indeed romantically involved or not. This is hard to determine, however, due to the damaged state of the ancient tablets and the language barrier. Many historians believe them to be soulmates regardless, mainly because of the dreams Gilgamesh has that foretell Enkidu’s arrival and because of how he mourns the loss of Enkidu: Gilgamesh attempts to outwit Death itself in an attempt to resurrect Enkidu and mourns him for the latter half of the tablets._

 _Throughout history we see several in- and decreases in the recording of soulmates. For example, we see a significant rise of recordings in Western Europe during the Renaissance, as well as during the 19th Century Romantic Era, which is also where the term “_ Soulmate” _originates from. An example of extreme decrease is the Period of Warring States in China, and the various occasions the Bubonic Plague struck througout the world. Of course, the recording and interpretation of soulmates differs per country. The socioeconomic, political and religious factors that influence the existence, recording and amount of soulmates will be discussed in later chapters. Before we get there, however, we must briefly answer the following question: What_ are _soulmates, and how have they been interpreted across cultures and history?_

\- Faulkner, J. “Soulmates: A Brief Global History” (2015)

~

Jack hated introduction-to-historical-subject-X-classes. Despised them, even. It always felt like having to start all over again, repeating and reading about the same few people and events over and over. This wasn’t strictly true, of course, usually a different approach was taken with the subject in question. The point is, this class on Soulmates and Relationships was kicking his ass. He’d only picked it because it was the only one that fit his schedule and would get him the required credits.

 Jack’s alarm clock currently read 4:00 AM. He’d woken up an hour before from a dream. It hadn’t been a bad dream, per se, but Jack still felt unable (or unwilling) to go back to sleep. He’d dreamt of lifting boxes into a moving truck, of the smell of meat on a grill with the Star Spangled Banner blasting from speakers, of a strong southern accent, of nervous jitters making his stomach turn, of talking about… Ovens? It was all very confusing, but Jack was sure of one thing: this was a Souldream. It matched every single requirement in chapter two of “Soulmates: A Brief Global History.” Did his dreams touch all senses? Check. Did he wake up feeling disorientated? Yep. Were his senses overwhelmed and hyperaware of everything? Absolutely.

And so, Jack Laurent Zimmermann knew that he would meet his soulmate very soon, and based on his dreams, was unsure of what to expect.

Eric Richard Bittle had not been what he’d expected, for sure. For starters, Eric was a lot smaller than Jack had imagined his soulmate to be. Eric had brought a new spark to the team, both on the ice and at the Haus, and within a year it had become painfully obvious to Jack that Bitty had been the subject of his Souldreams. He’d known before, probably the moment they had met and he’d heard Eric talk with _that_ accent, but it was only at the end of Eric’s frog year, during the holidays, he allowed himself to admit it. The dreams had returned full force now that they were apart again, and Jack had been dreaming of southern accents, confederate flags, sunshine, and baking almost nightly.

It was late into the holidays when he woke up at 4 a.m  for his morning run with the taste of something he knew was the taste of “Moomaw’s peach jam tarts” in his mouth. It was that very morning when he made a promise to himself: He would be nicer to Bittle, build up a strong friendship, and if that worked out, he would tell Bittle about the Souldreams at some point before graduation.

 ~

He ended up blurting it when they were taking a shower after a won game against Yale. He, Chowder, Eric, Shitty, and Nursey were the only ones stil in the locker room. Nursey and Shitty were having a heated discussion about different kind of privilege- or, rather, Nursey was getting schooled, Bittle was washing his hair and listening to Chowder ramble on about the Souldream he’d had the night before.

 “... And then I could feel sand between my toes, Bitty! As if I was really there! But I wasn’t, so it was a little weird, but also really nice because it was so warm and the sun was shining and I’ve missed that real beach feel so much, you know? It’s just not the same here...I think she might also be from Cali! And I’m meeting her soon. This is so exciting…” Chowder let out a dreamy sigh, continuing after a beat, not even giving Eric a chance to interject. Jack tuned out, focusing on relaxing his sore muscles one by one. He was rudely pulled from his concentration when he heard Chowder ask him something.

“Have you had your Souldream yet, Jack?” the goalie asked, startling Jack. The captain glanced at Bitty, who was suddenly very busy counting the tiles, before returning his attention to an overexcited Chowder again. Neither of them made any attempt to exit, which for Jack had more to do with the shampoo still in his hair than the situation.

“I.. Yeah,” he stammered, “I.. I have? I mean, I did. Have some.” Chowder gasped, very nearly squealing in his excitement.

“Have you met them yet?” he asked eagerly, “What did you dream about, Jack? Was it as nice as mine? I hope it was, because mine were so nice... “ He sighed happily again, leaning back against the shower wall.

 Jack had no idea how to react. He stalled replying by rinsing the shampoo out of his hair, hoping that Chowder was going to let it slide. When it became obvious he wasn’t going to do that, Jack tried to sound casual as he replied: “Yeah, I’ve met him… The Dreams were nice, too. I.. I liked the taste of them the most. And the… The voice.” He glanced at Eric again, who was suddenly in a hurry to leave. Jack couldn’t help but stare at the blush spreading from Eric’s chest to his face. It was a really nice blush. Chowder remained oblivious, though.

“Swawesome,” he said, nudging Jack with a grin on his face, “Who is it? Do I know them?” Jack was still watching Eric hurriedly pull on his clothes and rushing out of the room, and didn’t respond right away. Only after Chowder nudged him again he realized he’d been staring at Eric.

“You don’t have to te-” Chowder began, sounding almost guilty, but Jack cut him off.

“You know him,” he said, Chowder’s mouth snapping shut, “It’s.. It’s Eric. I gotta-” He ignored Chowder’s squeal- there definetly was a squeal this time- as he rushed out after Bitty, only just remembering to wrap a towel around his waist.

 ~

Jack found Eric by the vending machines, his back to the door. “Bitty,” Jack said, sounding a little breathless. Eric turned around, still with that gorgeous blush and- were those tears? Jack frowned. He was not a fan of the tears.

“Jack? What.. Why are you… You’re soaked,” Eric stammered, at the same time Jack bluntly said: “I think you’re my soulmate.” As the words left his mouth, he suddenly was very aware of how he looked, standing there. He hoisted his towel up a bit, clearing his throat. Eric just stared at him, eyes wide, lips slightly parted and not saying anything. It only made Jack feel more self-concious, to the point where he decided he had to do something about it. He took a step closer, now definitelyin the other’s personal space.

“I.. Is this.. Is this okay?” he asked, looking down at Eric, who just stared back. The only reply he got was a soft, hesitant kiss. Jack took that as a yes and leaned in, deepening it and pushing Eric up against the machine behind him, all while trying to contain his heart, which was trying really hard to jump out of his chest. Five kisses later, Eric finally leant back and Jack took a step back so Eric wouldn’t be trapped against the vending machine anymore.

“I soaked your shirt,” Jack apologized, voice a little hoarse, making Eric literally snort with laughter.

“You know what?” he just said, leaning against Jack with the brightest smile Jack had ever seen on him, “I think you’re my soulmate too.”

Those few words were enough to make Jack feel like he’d just won the Stanley Cup, as he wrapped his arms tightly around Bittle, kissing him again for good measure.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Leave me a comment and kudos with your thoughts!


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